Vanilla is native to Mexico and widely cultivated in Central America. /kloc-In the 6th century, Spanish conquistadors conquered Central America and introduced vanilla and chocolate to Europe. The English name of vanilla is vanilla, which comes from the Spanish word "vanilla", which means "small pod" in Spanish. European herbs play a very important role in European horticulture. Many gardening departments and lovers have their own special herb gardens. They collect and cultivate all kinds of herbs and plant them in the garden, so that they exude all kinds of fragrance all year round, which is refreshing. It has been scientifically proved that some of these fragrances can sterilize, disinfect and repel insects, and some can regulate the central nervous system, which is very beneficial to human health and make people get rid of sub-health state. For example, mint can refresh the mind, and red basil can cure cough and diarrhea. Because of the multifunctional function of vanilla in Europe, the sales volume in the international market is huge. The vanilla produced in China is in short supply in the international market, and its development prospect is attractive. Vanilla is a new type of health vegetable, which is rich in nutrition, delicious, healthy to human body, adaptable, fast growing, less pests and diseases, and basically does not use pesticides. It is a real green and healthy vegetable. In recent years, the boxed gift market has become more and more popular. A box of several kilograms of fresh vegetables will stink after a few days. For example, if you put a box of vanilla vegetables, the fragrance will last for a long time, and when you open the box, the fragrance will overflow. Isn't it the icing on the cake? Lemon basil is a good vanilla vegetable, which has the advantages of no soil selection, fast growth, easy cultivation, high yield and less pests and diseases. It can be used as a vegetable for cold salad, stir-fry and soup, and can also be used as a filling, with excellent taste. Another example is Mayolan and Spanish oregano, which are also excellent varieties of vanilla vegetables with outstanding health care effects.
First of all, fragrant dishes
Aromatic plants have various colors and attractive scents. Applying them to food can not only increase appetite and enrich diet, but also have a certain therapeutic effect. Edible aromatic plants are very common abroad, and there are some traditional eating methods in China, which can be summarized as follows:
As the main component. For example, the tender stems and leaves of arugula, dandelion, tarragon and mugwort. You can directly blanch with boiling water, and then mix with salt, sugar, sesame oil, monosodium glutamate and so on. , arugula, apple mint and so on. It can also be used for food. Gardenia can be used to make tea first, until the taste of tea turns weak, and then take out the flowers and put them in a pot to adjust the sweet and sour taste. It's fragrant and strong, and it's delicious.
As an ingredient, seasoning is added to dishes to increase the color and flavor of dishes. Perilla frutescens, oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, fennel and dill are often used in western food to add flavor to dishes. Perilla frutescens is often used in Japanese dishes with sashimi, and China traditional cauliflower such as rose shrimp and chrysanthemum hotpot. In Yunnan, lemongrass is usually used for grilled fish, mint leaf and egg soup and fragrant knotweed beef.
Make snacks with aromatic plants. For example, traditional Chinese rose stuffing, moon cakes stuffed with perilla seeds, and glutinous rice balls; Sweet osmanthus sugar lotus root, sweet osmanthus soup; Lotus leaf wrapped chicken, steamed meat; Folium Artemisiae Argyi Qing Tuan is a western-style pastry baked with fennel, rosemary and thyme.
Here are some simple ways to make aromatic food:
1, rosemary vinegar
Fresh roses, roots removed, washed and put on a plate. 250g refined oil, white vinegar 100g, tarragon broken leaves 0. 5g, celery powder100g, one diced cucumber, one boiled egg powder and a little black pepper, stir well to make vinegar juice, pour it on the roses and put it in the refrigerator. Pour some vinegar juice and add a few drops of red pepper juice when eating.
2. Aromatic oil
Aromatic oil is made by soaking dried aromatic plants in refined oil, preferably olive oil such as aromatic vinegar. The obtained aromatic oil can be directly used for cooking dishes. Compared with other oils, refined olive oil is a healthy and delicious edible oil with less calories and more water. Soaking vanilla in olive oil is even more delicious. It can be directly used to mix salads and spread on bread, and can also be used for health massage, beauty and skin care. Because the aromatic components contained in aromatic plants have oxidation resistance, the oil soaked in aromatic plants can be preserved for a longer time without deterioration.
Plants suitable for soaking aromatic oil are sage, thyme, basil, rosemary, oregano, mugwort, tarragon, lemon grass, mint, fennel, perilla, safflower and so on.
3. Aromatic wine
Aromatic wine can be soaked in high-alcohol liquor and appropriate amount of rock sugar, such as making aromatic vinegar. The obtained aromatic wine can be directly drunk or used as a cocktail, with rich colors and unique flavor.
Plants suitable for aromatic wine are: lemon grass, perilla, chamomile, mint, fennel, lavender, thyme, basil, crocus, tarragon, mugwort and osmanthus fragrans.
Second, aromatic herbal tea.
Aromatic herbal tea is different from traditional tea in China and medical care tea, because it basically does not use China tea, and all tea material are aromatic plants. It certainly has health care function, but it is sweet and not the usual bitter medicine. Aromatic herbal tea is characterized by fragrance, nutrition, medicine and color. As early as 300 years ago, Europeans had consciously selected some plants with good color, fragrance and certain health care functions to make daily drinks, called Cao Fangcha, and gradually developed herbal tea into a leisure and interesting drink. This trend soon spread all over Europe, and then spread to the United States, Japan, Hongkong, Taiwan Province and even the mainland, where it was very popular. When drinking, it makes people feel as if they are in the beautiful nature, relax physically and mentally, and give people a pleasant feeling, so it is quite popular among urbanites with tense rhythm.
Ice drink: In hot summer, ice drink peppermint tea, chamomile tea and so on. It's also delicious, but it needs to be brewed more strongly. That is, the amount of raw materials remains unchanged, but the amount of water is reduced by 1/3- 1/2, so as not to dilute the taste of herbal tea after adding ice.
Herbal tea with mild taste can be tasted as afternoon tea, and it is also a good choice if it is combined with its pharmacological effects and enjoyed at an appropriate time. For example, taste refreshing mint tea in the morning; Add lemon verbena tea after meals to promote digestion; Suitable for drinking chamomile tea before going to bed to help sleep.
Everyday busy and nervous urbanites might as well take time to choose a quiet corner to sit down, put on a soft music, make a pot of fragrant tea full of natural flavor, match a plate of light and refreshing snacks, or read a book alone, or talk and laugh with three or five friends, so as to rest their tired hearts.
Third, aromatic bodybuilding.
Aromatic plants have been used for beauty since ancient times. It is said that Cleopatra, the beautiful queen of ancient Egypt, often used aromatic plants to make beauty products to keep her charm. Yang Guifei of the Tang Dynasty in China bathed in fragrant soup soaked in aromatic plants every day to maintain her skin and add fragrance to her body. In the Renaissance West, there was a kind of "Queen's Water of Hungary" which was widely circulated among women. It is said that the queen uses it every day, so she always keeps young and beautiful. It is made of rosemary, mint leaves, rose petals, orange blossom water, lemon and alcohol. Besides beauty, aromatic plants are often used to purify and treat the body and mind. On the one hand, many medicinal ingredients contained in aromatic plants are at work. On the other hand, their natural fragrance can reconcile people's emotions, give people a pleasant feeling, help people establish a positive outlook on life, thus regulating the immune system and having a beneficial magical effect on body and mind.
Aromatherapy, which is popular in modern society, mainly refers to a kind of therapy that uses the essential oil extracted from aromatic plants to achieve health, beauty and mood harmony through massage, sniffing and water bath. Usually done in a professional beauty salon, the effect is remarkable and the price is higher. In fact, there are various small bottles of plant essential oils on the market. We can do some simple aromatherapy at home by incense, bathing, massage, spraying, etc., and recuperate our body and mind at any time. However, the use of essential oil should be cautious: pregnant women, infants and people with allergies should try to avoid it. In addition to using essential oils directly, we can also use fresh or dried roots and leaves of aromatic plants for aromatherapy, which is not only mild and less irritating, but also makes people feel closer to nature. In the natural fragrance of plants, we can relax our nerves and reflect on our relationship with nature, so as to achieve physical and mental harmony and health.
1, grass bath
Rosmarin
Taking a bath with the roots and leaves of aromatic plants can not only cleanse the body and moisturize the skin, but also eliminate muscle aches, calm nerves, promote blood circulation, and relieve unexplained insomnia, asthenic cold, shoulder pain, low back pain, loss of appetite, constipation and other symptoms. The pleasant fragrance of bath soup can make people feel comfortable, eliminate fatigue and improve the natural immunity of human body. For urbanites with tight pace of life, it is undoubtedly a good way to relieve stress.
The making of vanilla bath is very simple. First, select vanilla extract (fresh or dry) according to your body needs (refer to the function table of aromatic plants) and your preference for fragrance, cut the vanilla extract into pieces, put it into gauze bags or clean stockings, put it in a pot, and fry it in water to make decoction (some leaves and leaves of vanilla extract can be directly put into warm bath soup), and adjust the temperature of bath soup (38~40 degrees). If there is vanilla extract soup, Generally, you can soak in the bathtub for about 20 minutes, during which you can pat and massage all parts of your body with a bag full of herbs.
2, homemade aromatic cosmetics
Rose water: dry rose 1 tablespoon (2 tablespoons spent), add 600 ml of boiling water, cover and soak for two hours, and let cool. Apply it after cleansing every morning and evening to make the skin firm and rosy.
Hair care water: Boil 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary leaves (dry leaves 1 tablespoon) in boiling water, then turn off the fire and soak for 10 minute, filter and add 1 tablespoon apple vinegar. Commonly used can be black hair.
Gargle: Add a spoonful of dried sage leaves to 200ml of boiling water, turn off the fire and simmer for10min. After filtering, add a spoonful of apple vinegar and honey. Often used to whiten teeth.
Skin care oil: Vegetable oil soaked in aromatic plants (preferably olive oil) can be used for cooking and skin care massage.
3, incense and spray
We all have this experience: when we come to the fresh forest or fragrant flowers, we will feel refreshed, happy and relaxed. On the contrary, if we often stay in the dirty and smelly air, our physical and mental health will be threatened and our work efficiency will be reduced. At this time, you can use incense and spray incense to improve the air environment. These aromatic plant molecules will arouse our happy mood and improve our immunity. They can kill harmful bacteria in the air and ensure our physical and mental health. Many aromatic plants contain natural pigments. We can not only use them to add color and fragrance to food, such as yellow rice dyed with safflower and saffron, cakes, green balls dyed with mugwort, purple drinks dyed with lavender and so on. We should also use these fragrant plants to dye fabrics and make some fragrant and pure natural colored handkerchiefs, scarves, curtains, tablecloths and even dresses. The whole process is full of fun, so you might as well have a try.
Prepare the fabric to be dyed. Silk fabrics with sparse texture are the best, and cotton, hemp and wool fabrics are also acceptable. Prepare a pot of boiling water, add relevant aromatic plants to soak it, put it into the fabric, gently stir it with bamboo chopsticks, add mordant (usually alum) which is about 1% of the weight of the fabric, heat it with low fire for about 10 minute, take out the fabric, cool it, rinse it with clear water and dry it. If you want to dye the fabric with halo effect, you can tie the fabric with a rope before dyeing and untie it after dyeing (be sure to untie it after the fabric is dry). If you untie the ligation step by step, or untie some knots, and then tie some other knots, each step is dyed with different colors (note that it is dark first and then bright), then the same piece of cloth will show several different colors.
Different aromatic plants can be dyed in different colors:
Safflower, Crocus sativus and Gardenia (fruit)-dark yellow
Chamomile, calendula, mugwort-light yellow
Mint, fragrant bee flower-brown lavender-blue purple
rosy
Delphinium-light blue
Finally, the color of dyeing will be slightly different due to the collection time, dosage and texture of aromatic plants.
After the cloth is made into various finished products, some patterns can be pressed and dyed on it. The method is as follows: select some fragrant plant leaves with beautiful appearance and clear veins, coat propylene pigment on the back of the leaves, and then press dye them on the fabric to dry.